Thief Gold Walkthrough :

This walkthrough for Thief Gold [PC] has been posted at 24 Aug 2010 by An2g aji and is called "FAQ/Walkthrough". If walkthrough is usable don't forgot thumbs up An2g aji and share this with your freinds. And most important we have 2 other walkthroughs for Thief Gold, read them all!

Walkthrough - FAQ/Walkthrough

Page 1

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THIEF GOLD GUIDE
Author: Stoxy
Contact: doshemekluta@yahoo.com
Started: 02/06/02
Last Modified: 26/08/02
To do: There are more .cfg commands I need to test. To date, I have only
listed the basic 'cheat' commands
Most of the guide needs proof read
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABOUT THIS GUIDE
This guide is written for players of Thief Gold, both beginners, and experts.
It is intended to inform and guide, without "holding the reader's hand" i.e. it
is not a walkthrough.
When I said "beginners and experts", I mean playing on Normal (and I assume
for
the first time); and playing on Expert difficulty. I won't cover Hard and to be
honest I have never played on Hard.
I have assumed that you are smart enough to read the manual and work out the
basic controls.
The only controls I would like to point out are:
FORWARD LEAN:
LEFT SHIFT + LEFT ALT + W
SWIPING AT YOUR FEET:
When standing: SWORD SWIPE then immediately LOOK DOWN + CROUCH
SCREENSHOT:
Alt+f10
As for conventions used, I write proper British English, so some words (e.g.
"centre") might look slightly wrong to Americans; however I will use the
American convention of calling the ground floor of a building the "first
floor", as this is how Thief names it's floors.
Because this is maybe the only FAQ I'll ever write, I can't pass up teh
oppurtunity to say:
THIS FAQ IS COVERED BY US FEDERAL COPYRIGHT LAW IF YOU SO MUCH AS COPY A
SINGLE LETTER FROM IT MY DAD WILL FIND OUT AND YOU WILL GO TO JAIL FOR NO MORE
THAN FIVE YEARS AND PAY A FINE OF NO MORE THAN US$15,000 AND MY COUSIN CAN GET
YOUR HOUSE ADDRESS FROM YOUR IP ADDRESS
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CREDITS
I learnt a huge amount about playing this game from other guides or message
boards (namely material at http://www.thief-thecircle.com and
http://www.ttlg.com ); but this guide was written entirely by me, and contains
only information that I personally found useful in playing the game.
For some of this guide's content, I only deserve credit for compilation.
I would like this guide not to be changed. E-mail me if you want something
added or changed or credited.
Thanks to Jeroen for proof reading this guide.
The following TTLG users (and probably others I unfortunately don't recall)
deserve credit:
Azal;
Luthien (provided advice and corrections on several occasions, also listed CFG
commands);
BR796164 (specifically: advice on playing Return to the Cathedral);
Santaclaws;
Our Newest Acolyte;
Darkwanderer ("Lytha" sneaking);
Tacky;
Theef;
MechLean (explained the undocumented forward lean, among other help);
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTENTS
A. WEAPONS AND ITEMS
1-Blackjack
2-Sword
3-Broadheads
4-Water Arrows
5-Fire Arrows
6-Moss Arrows
7-Noisemaker Arrows
8-Rope Arrows
9-Gas Arrows
10-Compass
11-Lockpicks
12-Health Potions
13-Speed Potions
14-Breath Potions
15-Mines
16-Gas Mines
17-FlashBombs
18-Holy Water
19-Food
20-Keys and puzzle items
21-Papyrus (Papyrii?)
B. DEALING WITH PARTICULAR ENEMY TYPES
Basic AI guide
1- Swordsmen
2- Archers
3- Hammers
4- Hammer Priests
5- Zombies
6- Burricks
7- Spiders
8- Hammer Haunts
9- Apparitions
10- Fire Shadows
11- Fire Elementals
12- Elemental Mages
13- Craymen
14- CrayBeasts (Blue Craymen)
15- Frogbeasts
16- Apebeasts
17- Bugbeasts
18- Innocents
C. LEVEL GUIDES
1- A Keeper's Training
2- Lord Bafford's Manor
3- Break from Cragscleft Prison
4- Down in the Bonehoard
5- Assassins
6- The Downwind Thieves' Guild
7- The Sword
8- The Haunted Cathedral
9- The Mage Towers
10- The Lost City
11- Song of the Caverns
12- Undercover
13- Return to the Haunted Cathedral
14- Escape!
15- Strange Bedfellows
16- The Maw of Chaos
17- Blooper Reel
D. SPECIAL TECHNIQUES
1- Lean 'n Jacking
2- Hopping
3- NPC Jumping
4- Stacking
5- How to kill (without it counting against you)
6- Nudging
E. MISCELLANEOUS
1- SHAS
2- Level Skipping
3- Config commands
F. DARKLOADER (Playing Fan Missions)
1- Getting Darkloader
2- Installing Darkloader
3- Getting Missions
4- Playing Missions
G. DROMED (Level editing)
1- Installing Dromed
2- The Tutorials
3- Where to get more tutorials/help
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A. WEAPONS AND ITEMS
1- Blackjack.
This is used to knock enemies unconcious. The manual makes the obtuse
statement that you should "aim for the head, if indeed your enemy has a head".
In fact, you can be quite sloppy when aiming at your foe; and whether a foe
has a head does not imply it can or can't be blackjacked.
Anyway, I'll cover particulars in section B. DEALING WITH PARTICULAR ENEMY
TYPES.
In general, an enemy must be unaware of you to be blackjacked. The exceptions
are innocents, who will always go down, and enemies struck using the "Lean 'n
Jack technique" (see D. SPECIAL TECHNIQUES).
In all cases, the blackjack does 1 point of damage. If the enemy has only 1
point of health, they will die.
It is possible to guard with the blackjack, using the spacebar or third mouse
button (press mouse wheel in, if you have one); but I never use this.
2- Sword.
Some question Garrett possessing a sword. It's rather misleading for new
players, who may spend a lot of time trying to sword fight everything in Lord
Bafford's. However it can be useful, and later in the game it is essential.
The sword will make Garrett more visible, and slow him down. It can make
certain Non Player Characters become hostile, but only in special cases.
Put it away with the key left of '1', above the tab key.
To swipe, just tap the left mouse button. The stronger blow occurs if you
hold the mouse button for a second. You can tell when this is by Garrett's
grunting. The overhead blow is performed by holding the mouse button longer
still. Garrett will make a second grunt, and raise the sword over his right
shoulder.
Note that Garrett slows when attacking, and is much slower still when ready to
make an overhead swipe.
The quick swipe does 2 points of damage, 4 for a hard swipe, and 6 points of
damage for an overhead swipe.
To block, hold space, or the third mouse button (i.e. press in your mouse
wheel). You will need to 'aim' to actually catch your opponents blow. Turning
left and right is *very* slow while holding block.
In general, the best way to sword fight (and you should always aim *never*
to sword fight) is to try and keep behind your enemy's back. Keep half an eye
out for an escape route (up or off a ledge is best, so your enemy can't follow).
To sword fight facing an opponent, the most important thing is to keep the
right distance away. Stay out of reach, but not too far, or you will prompt
them to close in on you. Charge up an overhead strike, and move in and strike.
If you do it right, you will stun your opponent long enough to pull out again;
but more usually when using this tactic, the enemy will get a quick side swipe
in. If playing on Normal, you can live with this; on Expert you may have to
consider re-loading.
3- Broadhead arrows.
Basic arrows, but pretty useful. You should practice hitting at a distance.
I find overlapping the bottom centre of the aiming reticle with my target
helps, it's easier to judge the power from there.
The broadhead flies in an arc, and does a random amount of damage, affected
by the arrows velocity and the target's AI state.
If the broadhead strikes grass or wood, it can be retrieved and re-used.
You are slightly more visible with broadheads selected.
4- Water Arrows.
I find putting my target just below centre of the aiming reticle helps (the
target is usually near to you, if not just round the corner).
Water arrows can be used to put out torches, and clear up bloodstains; but
the level designs mean you rarely *need* to use one.
Water arrows are totally silent, you can hit an enemy in the face and they
won't notice. I believe dousing a fire makes a hissing noise, that can be
detected. Enemies will forget though, if they aren't disturbed again for the
next few seconds.
You are quite visible with water arrows selected.
Water arrows do no basic damage, but harm some fire-based enemies; and can
be made holy to damage the undead, either using a holy water vial (see 18-
Holy Water), or holy water font.
Holy water arrows remain holy for 30 seconds, in which time an undead enemy
can be taken out with 1-2 arrows. They do "splash damage" i.e. they damage in
a radius, so try to bunch up enemies to make the most of your arrows. I don't
think the velocity of the arrow affects damage.
5- Fire arrows.
The top of the aiming reticle determines what direction the arrow will go.
The length of time you draw back the bow determines the velocity. I do not
think the velocity affects damage; in any case fire arrows do a *lot* of
damage, and should be used sparingly.
Fire arrows do some splash damage, and can relight torches.
You are a lot more visible with fire arrows selected.
All enemies can be killed with fire arrows, bar fire haunts and elementals
(in fact, elementals will regain health from them).
6- Moss Arrows.
Like water arrows, these arrows can be fired without fear of attention. Aim
carefully to hit the part of the ground you want to silence. Several moss
patches will appear. You can walk silently anywhere inside the square they
make up, not just on the moss patches themselves.
They do zero damage to enemies.
7- Noisemaker arrows.
Fire in an arc, they bounce off walls until they come to rest. For a while,
they will make noise that alerts any enemies in the area. Noisemakers are
pretty useless, it's probably better to use a broadhead.
You can retrieve noisemakers after they have landed. Experiment with them,
but I do not recommend ever buying any at the start of a mission.
They do zero damage.
8- Rope arrows.
Rope arrows are very useful. Fire them into wood or earth, and they will
drop a rope straight down for climbing. If you hit an unsuitable surface, your
arrow is destroyed. They act just like Broadheads, up until they hit something.
Enemies do not notice these ropes, no matter how obvious their position.
Rope arrows can be retrieved, by grabbing the arrow at the top of the rope.
If you are climing the rope at the time, you will fall. If you have more than
one rope arrow, you can fire it nearer to a ledge, and get the first rope
arrow by climbing the new rope, then collecting the second rope arrow from the
ledge. Note that you do not *have to* get your rope arrows back.
Rope arrows are slightly buggy, I would save before firing them, and
recommend you do not save while actually on them. When you load a game, the
ropes are respawned.
A final note: it's possible that if you can't see a wooden edge, but you
can see the corner where it adjoins another surface, you can try firing the
arrow at the corner.
9- Gas arrows.
Share the fire arrow's flat trajectory; these arrows are expensive, rare,
but powerful. They knock out enemies with a small cloud of gas. It's hard to
knock out more than one enemy at a time, but you should try, so as to make the
most of the arrow. They can also extinguish torches, and possibly damage fire
elementals.
10- Compass.
Simple, the red arrow points north, which is usually the top of the page on
your map. Not too useful, as the maps aren't to scale, let alone complete or
accurate.
11- Lockpicks.
Appear after you complete 'Down in the Bonehoard'; these will open chests
and doors, and also defuse mines. To use them, you have to be near the object
in hand. You can open doors from about 5 feet, but need to be roughly within 2
feet to pick the lock.
Try to learn the sounds they make, rummaging noises mean progress, while a
click means the pick won't work; try the other pick.
If you can start to pick an object, then it can be fully picked i.e. there
are no "half-pickable" red herrings; and you can't fail.
One more thing, Mr. Garrett: try to open doors and chests with keys first,
as it's quicker and quieter.
12- Health Potions.
Restore some health. You get one point back as soon as you consume, and
about 3 slowly regenerate later. Not a lot, but proportionally more on expert.
You can drink more than one at a time, they will act independantly of each
other.
13- Speed Potions.
For a few seconds, Garrett is granted more speed. Useful for escaping,
quickly moving while the enemies back is turned, or fighting. It can also help
Garrett reach platforms he normally could not, but the level designs mean
there's nothing you need a speed potion exclusivly to see (well... nothing
they intended you to see, anyway...).
Note that Speed potions are not bound to a key, you will need to use the
inventory cycle keys (Default '[' and ']').
14- Breath Potions.
Restore Garrett's air to full when underwater. Use when air is low to make
the most of it. The level designs mean you never *need* one of these, and they
are rarely needed, but are useful when swimming somewhere you have never been
before, or somehow miss an essential air pocket.
15- Mines.
These landmines cause damage similar to a fire arrow. Drop or slide them
across the floor, you do not need to worry about them exploding as they land.
If you want to slide them, aim nearer to your feet than you might expect, they
slide quite a bit. When they come to rest, they will take a couple of seconds
to arm, then anything that comes nearby will cause them to explode. This
includes yourself, or inanimate objects (but not doors). The object need not
be moving either.
The sound of their landing often invites enemies to investigate.
The main aspect that you will need to consider when using them, is that
they do damage in a radius, but also trigger when their radius is intruded.
The consequence of this is that enemies are likely to be only at the edge of
the blast radius. If possible, try and tempt enemies to run straight over it
in order to take full damage.
Mines can be lockpicked, so as to be made safe, and reused. This is quite
tricky, you need to get just close enough to use the picks, without being
close enough to set them off.
Finally, if you see one lying in the level, and you didn't set it there
yourself, then it's not armed, and you can safely pick it up.
16- Gas Mines.
Similar to regular mines, but release a burst of gas instead of a blast of
fire. This will knock out but not kill enemies, but only damage enemies that
can be KOed. The gas burst is quieter than the explosive mine, and can
extinguish torches. Possibly, it can also damage Fire Elementals?
Useful against guards who are hard to approach, can also be used to take
out pursuants, but with the 3 second set up time, you might have a Benny Hill
style chase on your hands to get your enemies to trigger the mine.
17- Flashbombs.
*Very* useful. These objects cause a bright flash that stun some enemies,
and damage others. If used improperly, you will catch yourself in the flash,
and for some reason, the enemies will then get away without being affected.
Anyway; to use them, either lean round a corner and toss; toss and turn
away; or drop straight to the ground while running (it will be behind you when
it lands). You have about 6 seconds to blackjack any guards caught in the flash.
I find it good to have these ready to hand when exploring new areas where you
don't know the guard layout.
18- Holy Water.
Turns Water arrows holy for 30 seconds, so that they can damage the undead.
Killing one or two zombies will take about 10 seconds, and you might be
tempted to dash off looking for more to get your 30 seconds worth, be careful
not to put yourself in a precarious position. If possible, round up some
enemies before using. If your 30 seconds runs out while you have your bow
raised, the arrow remains holy; but cancelling the shot will make the arrow
turn back into a plain Water arrow.
19- Food.
Does nothing, apart from the large purple fruit later in the game, which
has the most... restorative effect.
20- Keys and puzzle items.
Click right mouse button once to put these in the centre of the screen,
them press again while facing a door or recepticle.
21- Papyrus (Papyrii?)
Click right mouse button to read. If the bottom right corner is dog-eared,
you can click it to see the next page. Press the right mouse button, or a
keyboard key to return to game. The game is effectivly paused while reading.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B. DEALING WITH PARTICULAR ENEMY TYPES
Basic AI guide
AI either stand around, or patrol (it's possible for them to patrol
entirely at random, but I do not think any AI in the game actually do this).
There are 4 basic AI states: completly unaware, suspicious, actively searching
for you, and attacking you. You can tell what state an AI is in by their
animation, and what sounds they use. Human AI make rather obvious noises, for
most other AI you will have to learn what each sound means (you can also guess
by the tone and inflection). Being familiar with an enemies grunting/hissing
etc also goes some way to being less afraid of them, too!
AI have a morale associated with them. This is basically a health level at
which they will stop fighting and run. Some AI will immediatly run on becoming
aware of you; while some never run, and will fight to the death! A morale
broken AI will try and put some distance between you and them, then go back to
the state of actively searching for you. If they take any damage, they will
flee again. As far as I know, AIs neither run to their comrades, nor get a
morale boost from being near comrades; although they will stimulate any other
AI they encounter.
1- Swordsmen
There are a few variations on the basic guard, they vary in health,
attacking strength, AI (how easily they notice you), and morale level.
Avoid getting into a sword fight with them, especially if the mission has a
No Kill condition, as you simply can't win.
The best thing to do is to sneak past, or methodically blackjack these
guards. If they are unaware of you, you can easily blackjack them, and walk
right behind them no problem. You can also backstab them with your sword, but
this is slightly trickier than blackjacking, and risks leaving bloodstains.
They never regain consciousness from blackjacking anyway, so really
backstabbing is a bad option. Note, 'backstab' is just a phrase, you can
strike any part of them, as long as they are unaware of you.
If the guard is suspicious, they will complain, call into the darkness, and
look about. If possible, wait a bit, and see if they go back to their
business, then have another go at getting past. If you attack or move past
them at this point, you may or may not get away with it, depending on your
visibility and noise.
If they are actively looking for you, they will confidently demand you come
out and face them, or call out to fellow guards. At this point, you can sneak
past if in total darkness and over a quiet surface, but you have no chance of
blackjacking or getting a backstab damage bonus; with the exception of the
Lean 'n Jack trick (D.1- Lean 'n Jacking).
Guards in this state will basically cheat, and move right towards you, even
if they have no logical reason to suppose that is where you are. Eventually,
they may go back to patrolling, but they will retain alertness and will be
harder to catch unawares. To handle guards in this state, either run (try not
to let them know what direction you took), fight, hide somewhere they can't
get to, or use an item such as a flashbomb or gas arrow.
A guard attacking you can be Lean 'n Jacked when running at you, but not
while actually sword swinging. Guards in this state will run straight for you,
and can see you even in complete darkness. Run, use a gas item or a flashbomb,
or stand and fight. If you get far enough away, or somewhere they can't get
to, they'll curse you, and return to the actively searching state.
The final guard state is to flee. When their health drops to a certain
level, they'll run off shouting at the top of their voice. I'm not sure how
they choose where to go, they don't seem to actively find comrades. After a
while, they will stop running, but remain alert.
Sword guards can swordfight *much* better than you, doing more damage, and
landing more blows. If you want to fight them, try using broadheads as they
run at you; you can *almost* draw the arrow right back in the time it takes
them to recover from an arrow, so you can take off most of their health by the
time they reach you. When actually melee fighting, keep some space behind you,
and don't get within striking distance unless you are going to strike
yourself. A good tactic is to circle strafe behind, and make many quick swipes
at the guard's back. As soon as their morale breaks (he will change animation
and cry out), get in and KILL HIM. Don't let him run, and don't worry about
him hitting you back.
A final tip, if you are unsure what direction a sword guard faces, note
that their sword is always in their right hand.
2- Archers
Similar to the sword guard, and normally used in combination with sword
guards (usually 2 or 3 swordsmen to one archer); or placed where they can view
a large area.
The difference from sword guards becomes apparent when they start to
attack: rather than getting right up to you, archers will try and put at least
10 feet or so between you, and then start shooting arrows. Once an archer
starts firing, he will always fire, he never stops halfway through firing.
Use this aiming period to either get sprinting, or break line of sight.
Sprinting isn't a great solution, the archer's have a good aim, although
jumping as well can improve your chances. To break line of sight, simply put
something between your self and the archer. The archer will then move to where
he can get a clear shot at you. If you get enough distance, he will revert to
searching for you. There's a few tips you can learn here:
a. If you hide behind wood or earth, the archer's arrows will stick into the
surface, and you can steal them later;
b. If you get another enemy between you and the archer, he will shoot them
instead! Because he is commited to firing once he starts, he will even hit his
own comrades;
c. This is a bug really, but the arrows are particle projectiles, that start
from the tip of the archers bow, and are fired in your direction. If you can
get *behind* an archer when he's aiming, then the arrow he fires will be shot
*backwards* from his bow; and hit himself!
If you wish to fight an archer, the obvious tip is to get close up. They
*will* still fire even if they are right beside you, but being next to them
makes it easier for you to maneuver. A good tip is to use either weak sword
slashes, or even blackjack blows on them. The reason is that the archers will
be knocked back with each blow and need to recover; and hopefully you can land
another blow before they recover. If they start to aim an arrow, however, it
may be impossible to put them off, no matter how hard or quick you hit them;
so either take cover (may not be time for this), or run and jump behind them.
3- Hammers
A nasty surprise; Hammers are similar to sword guards, but tougher. They
weild heavy hammers that do a good amount of damage, but the really nasty
thing is that they can pull off three hits in quick succession. This means
death, or at least an unacceptable amount of damage.
The levels where Hammers appear don't lend themselves to archery, although
you might be able to land 4-5 arrows on one running down a passageway before
he gets into swinging range. In general you should try to stealth past, or
methodically blackjack them. The levels are designed so you can sneak past
Hammers, so always look for the quiet route through. If you alert one, either
Lean 'n Jack; reload; or use a flashbomb.
4- Hammer Priests
Not a lot of these fellows in the game, but they are your first encounter
with the 'mage' AI caste. Weaker than the Hammer guards; Priests use a ranged
spell, similar to an archer. Because of the long casting time, the melee
tactic of constant quick attacks works well: you can kill these enemies just
by constantly blackjacking.
5- Zombies
A warm welcome if you've just joined us; yes, I expected you might skip
straight to this section! There are quite a few of the walking dead in the
game; and if you engage them expecting them to act like zombies are supposed
to (George Romero/Resident Evil style), you would get a nasty surprise. They
have a strange stabbing action, and can pull off several 'stabs' in quick
succession; that will tear through your health as fast as a sword. I think
they also have a biting attack, but you should never be close enough to find
out!
The next nasty surprise, is that they are almost invunerable. Knock them
down, they will get up almost immediately if you hang around, and they are
only slightly easier to knock over the second time. They need to be 'gibbed'
with holy, fire, or flashbomb items.
The actual way their health works is a bit odd. Enough damage of any type
will knock them to the ground. Then, they will start to regain their health.
To destroy them, you need to put their health below zero, which means doing
more damage than they can heal. Unfortunatly, your sword is not fast or strong
enough to compete with their healing; you need to use Fire; Holy; or Flashbomb
items. If they have been lying down long enough, they may regain full health,
and your flashbomb or holy arrow will only reduce their health, and not
destroy them.
I'll handle zombie encounters in the level guides, but in general you
should take advantage of the zombie's sluggishness and stupidity. Here's a few
zombie fighting tips:
a. While they can strike with lightning speed, they move and react slowly,
you can run past them quite easily, and they will soon give up chasing you;
b. Don't worry so much about your visibility when you are moving close to a
zombie. While they can't see into dark corners, they will sense you, if you
are within a couple feet. With their slow reactions, you can make quite cheeky
dashes between 'safe' positions. Because they don't stay alert for long, and
can never be caught unawares; you can safely alert them if you have somewhere
to dash to. I don't think simply leaving their sight is enough; putting a good
distance betwen you is best;
c. Zombies will investigate disturbances, but are unconcerned by corpses,
noise arrows etc., that would normally panic an enemy;
d. A dead end is a THE end. There's a few places in the game with dead ends
that you might get trapped in. I don't really have general advice for this
situation; except to say be careful where you quicksave, and remember that you
can flashbomb them to stun them for a few seconds, and you need not worry
about catching yourself in the flash;
e. Zombies have no particular grudge against you, they will attack anything
living; let someone else handle them! However, there's only a few places you
can take advantage of this, and if a zombie is alerted, they will home in on
*YOU*, even if it was another creature that disturbed them.
f. If there are several zombies, try and 'round them up' to make best use of
the items that will destroy them. Mines work well, on Expert you will have few
other uses for them. If there is only one zombie, you should think of just
getting past it, or using one item just to distract it and get past.
g. To swordfight a zombie isn't actually that tough. If you are going to do
this, consider luring it to a quiet corner, where others won't join in, and
you need never disturb the thing again. To fight the thing, move in and out of
it's stabbing range, teasing it into wasting it's blows, then move in and hit
it. You can get strong blows in, but overhead attacks might let it get in a
quick swipe. Zombies can block your sword attacks with their arms.
h. While sneaking up on them is tough, hitting them unawares with an arrow
or thrown item will do extra damage.
i. When shooting water or fire arrows at them, aim at their midsection,
where their spine is exposed. Possibly this is an intended weak spot, or
possibly it puts the centre of the arrows particle effect at their centre
point, for maximum damage.
After facing them a few times on expert, they aren't so bad.
I have also read in a couple of places that zombies can be destroyed by
luring them into water, but I have never managed to do this. I lured one into
roughly shoulder high water (high enough that I could not use my sword), and
it was entirely unaffected.
6- Burricks
Strange reptilian animals that live in burrows. They are not entirely
hostile, and in fact seem more distressed and afraid if you run into one. They
attack by breathing gas, which starts at their mouth, and spreads out towards
you. They will fire at point blank if necessary, and taking them out with
quick swipes has variable success; both because of their attack, and because
their morale breaks easily.
You should avoid these creatures, just run past, they won't give chase. If
you are nervous dealing with them, try for a backstab, then several quick
stabs before they get to run or attack; but beware they are rarely alone.
Oddly, you can Blackjack these animals, they will bow their heads and stand
stock still; but it's tricky to do.
7- Spiders
Appear in three versions; small, large, and super. Small spiders are an
annoyance more than anything else, but losing energy to them is a waste. They
have only one point of health, so anything will kill them. They can easily be
outrun, as they usually appear in caves etc. with ledges and pools. The
annoying thing is that they are rarely alone, and are hard to hit. If you try
and sword swipe while crouched, Garrett will stand up. Irritating. To strike
the ground, you need to start your swipe, then crouch.
However, the best way to kill these things is with broadheads. Even if they
are real close, and you only draw the bow back lightly, it'll kill them. The
skill is picking them off at a distance without wasting arrows or making them
charge at you.
They can jump, which normally puts them somewhere close to you; so if one
does jump, move away and turn to find it again without letting it bite.
The larger spiders have more health, and are best dealt with by
backstabbing, or firing several broadheads before it know where you are. They
can also jump, and have a habit of landing on your head, which does no harm,
but can panic you if you're trying to find where the critter went! These
spiders can block swordswipes with their legs, strangely.
The 'super' spiders are the same size as large, but use magic and 'web'
projectiles. The magic projectiles damage you, while the webs hold you until
you can get rid of them; a counter bottom centre of the screen shows how many
mouse clicks you need to do before you will be freed. Against one of these
spiders, you can get one or two sword attacks in before they web you again;
but against two they can keep you constantly webbed.
So, best bet is to backstab, or use some heavy firepower, or just avoid
them altogether.
8- Hammer Haunts
Hammer bodies pervaded by an evil power; they are as tough as living
Hammers, but quick and fearless. As they are possessed , rather than having a
conscience; they never morale break, and they cannot be blackjacked. If *you*
decide to run, these nightmares can keep up with you easily, so look for a
ledge to put between yourselves. THE way to get rid of these things is to
backstab them. Be careful, as they go from unaware to alert quickly; and the
backstab may not deal enough damage to kill.
Fighting these things close up is a bad idea, they are as vicious as
Hammers, and a bit faster with it. Even with practise, they will usually be
able to land a quick sword swipe or two. This damage is maybe acceptable on
Normal, but on Expert you may need to consider re-loading. Fire, unholy, and
flashbomb items will do most damage, catching them unawares does extra damage;
they will also recoil so you can get in some sword swipes; or make a break for
it.
9- Apparitions
The ghosts of Hammer Priests. They are similar, but tougher; have no morale
break; and their spell casts three skulls, rather than one or two cogs. Get
them on their own, and use several quick sword swipes. Be careful of them if
they get to start casting, as they will normally get to finish no matter what
you do; so try to stay at their side or back.
10- Fire Shadows
Found lurking in a couple levels, Fire Shadows are similar to Hammer Haunts
in behaviour. They are new to Gold, and added to cover the problem of players
getting stuck on levels that have puzzles involving fire arrows. Upon being
defeated, they drop a fire arrow crystal, and run away. They will return at
full health after a minute or so, at normal AI state, but if you are still
hanging around, they will immediatly start attacking you again!
Presumably, using fire arrows and mines is ineffective; and generally a
backstab is best, to make beating them "cost effective".
A final note, they generate light, and might spoil your nice dark corner.
On the other hand, you can see them coming around corners easier.
11- Fire Elementals
Sentient balls of fire. They fly in midair, but follow the same route-
finding AI as other enemies. The trickiest aspect of these entities is working
out their state. You can see what direction they are moving from their tail,
but they are expressionless and all their sound effects are similar (they do
have a full set of sounds though, I think it's possible to learn what their
different noises mean). They grow and shrink according to their health.
Fire Elementals generate their own light, and can spot you from a distance.
They attack by firing fire particles at you, and also having a charge attack
they use less often.
Water arrows are best against them, but sword and broadheads also work
though it would be a bad idea to try. If you are actually stupid enough to use
a fire arrow on them, they will regain health. One water arrow will usually
kill, if not; hopefully it will do enough damage to make the thing flee.
Remember you only need the water arrow to touch it, pulling the drawstring
further back won't inflict any more damage.
The best strategy against these things is to dash past them quickly but
discretely with water arrows ready. Lurking isn't as good as it is against
other enemies, as you'll get little notice that they've spotted you. If you
know there are Fire Elementals in the area; keep on the move, but peer around
corners rather than run straight out. If you are spotted, find cover,
preferably where you can predict where the Elemental is going to re-appear, so
you can pull off a water arrow.
12- Elemental Mages
Four types: Earth, air, water and fire. Similar to hammer priests, and can
be easily killed by keeping them stunned with weak attacks. They attack using
their respective elements, the Earth Mages using crushing vines. You will need
to tap the mouse button to break free; if you come up against two Earth Mages,
you'll be in trouble, as they'll keep piling the vines on.
13- Craymen
Humanoid creatures that attack with their claws; and act rather similar to
swordsmen. Not too tricky really, they can be backstabbed and blackjacked.
They aren't too quick, if you want to run; and if you're not too bad with your
sword, killing them won't break a No Kills goal.
Often the best tactic is to run, though, as they donn't guard anything
useful.
14- Craybeasts (Blue Craymen)
Tougher versions of the craymen. Appear towards the end of the game, and
are best avoided; certainly there's little point in standing and fighting.
15- Frogbeasts
They don't follow the usual AI, or at least their patrol routes are
strange, and they have no expressive animation. Their sounds are all similar,
so it's hard to judge what they are up to. They basically just hop about. When
they see you, they'll stand for a second, then jump at you and explode! Nasty.
If you suddenly find yourself near to one, be very cautious; it's hard to tell
if it can see you. The best way to take them out is from a distance with a
broadhead. Your sword is useless, as you'll be in their blast radius.
They can be blackjacked, but it's too tricky to be a useful tactic.
The explosion will damage and alert other enemies.
16- Apebeasts
Look and sound like rats, maybe slightly baboonish up close. Basically
sword guards, but slightly weaker and a bit faster on their feet (their
reaction times are about the same). With practice, you can cut them down with
your sword easily, but that's not as elegant as a blackjack, and they're
normally found in groups; and backed up by a bugbeast; see next entry...
17- Bugbeasts
Praying Mantii like creatures, quite slow, and have a *lot* of health. They
have no melee attack, but instead spit out swarms of bugs (possibly wasps).
These swarms either impact for damage, or become a stationary cloud that hurts
to walk through, and eventually explode outward, damaging anything nearby.
The bugswarms appear to hurt anything other than Bugbeasts, so try and get
some Apebeasts in between.
When you face these creatures, Gas arrows and mines are your best bet;
indeed, the levels in which they appear will give you plenty of Gas items, so
this may well be the intended way you are to deal with them.
18- Innocents
Human, non-combatant characters. Follow the basic AI, except on becoming
alert, they will flee instead of attacking. Therefore, they have no real moral
breaking point. The other difference in AI is that they can always be
blackjacked. They can usually be found standing around, and often can be
pickpocketed.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C. LEVEL GUIDES
Beginner's sections cover the Normal difficulty levels.
Expert covers the levels playing on Expert, and points out things of
interest, alternative ways to play the level etc.
1- A Keeper's Training
Overview- A small training mission, but a mission nonetheless. Teaches the
basics, but you'll spend a while dying miserably anyway when you get into the
game, don't expect this mission to make you any better.
Beginner's Guide-
Objectives: Follow the Keepers' instructions to complete the training course.
If this is the very first time you've played Thief, this mission will cover
the basics. If you've ever played a First Person perspective action game, it's
a piece of cake. Use the mouse to look about, and W, A, S and D to move about.
Other controls appear as text tips when necessary.
This course doesn't teach all the controls, and you should have a go at
leaning (Q, E, and Shift+Alt+W) as well.
Expert Guide-
Objectives: Follow the Keepers' instructions to complete the training course.
Not much to it. There is one secret though; run through the level as fast
as you can, get the key off the table in the courtyard, then beat the sparring
guard as quickly as you can. When you beat him, quickly run down the passage
he walks down, there is a secret room at the end if you got here quick enough.
2- Lord Bafford's Manor
Overview- Straight up burglary. Get in, past all the guards, and steal the
sceptre. Starts out on the streets, and makes you enter from the sewer, then
work your way to the top floor. Expert difficulty is pretty much the same, but
with some extra conditions, mainly that you have to get back out. On normal,
the level can be completed in just over about two and a half minutes.
Beginner's guide-
Objectives: Get into the manor by breaking into the well house.
Get the sceptre.
Don't try the front door! It won't work. Wait outside the wall, and listen
to the guards, then continue on up the street. Don't forget your arrow cache
at the SouthWest corner, water arrows are always useful.
All in all a rather fun mission, but if you are new to the game, you will
die many, many times. Biggest tip I can give you is to keep your sword
sheathed, as the game progresses swordfighting will be out of the question.
Try and blackjack guards, then hide the bodies somewhere dark. Try and spot
which of the four AI states a guard is in, and see how cheeky you can be in
terms of making a disturbance then running away. If things do turn sour, load
or restart, or pull out your sword and try your luck.
It's possible to get lost in Bafford's, dues to the psuedo-symmetry of the
place. You're best remembering objects and places around the level; rather
than trying to use the map. Later in the game, your map is near useless.
If you happen to pick something up but it turns out to be useless, stand on
carpet or grass, crouch, and press 'r', and you will drop it as quietly as
possible.
On the top floor, there are a lot of hard tiled surfaces. Even a single
step will put the guards on alert. There's about three or four guards up
there, and you might want to pickpocket at least one for the key to Bafford's
'throne room'.
Another copy of the key is kept in Bafford's counting room. There is a
staircase in the centre of the top floor, that eventually leads down to a room
with a chest, the throne room key on the wall, and a ledger book on the table.
You can also get in there by a secret passage hidden behind a banner in one
of the roof garden areas, but getting down from there can be tricky without
disturbing the guard. If he gets to strike the gong, dodge him until his two
comrades show up, then try and flashbomb them all.
Actually, his first reaction is to strike the gong, at that point you could
just grab the scepter. You have about five seconds to wait before the level
actually ends, just stay off the guards' swords and you'll be fine!
A final tip- if you hear two Non Player Characters talking, don't disturb
them, wait for their conversation to end, and they'll go about their patrols.
Expert Guide-
Objectives: Get into the manor.
Get the sceptre.
Get 700 loot.
Kill no-one.
Get out.
Not too bad, if you are used to playing no-kills. You'll either have to run
away, reload, or learn to Lean 'n Jack if you get caught out though. If you
choose to run, try and lead the enemy round somewhere you have been before,
and take corners and close doors behind you, until you can't hear footsteps.
Keep an ear out for the guard muttering or cursing. He'll return to his normal
patrol, hopefully.
A useful tactic if you have a guard on your tail is to run and jump into
the pool in the centre of the manor.
The 700 loot shouldn't be too hard. In the sewers out in the streets,
there's some loot in the room with a switch, that also allows you to exit the
sewers beside the well house, handy for getting the key and getting down the
well without even a KO. Once you fall down the well, find the small chamber
below and to your left that contains 4-5 spiders and a chest. Vault out of the
water, open the chest, run back into the water. Get the loot in the library
and master bedroom, both northeast of the top floor. That's about 400 cleared,
you'll have to do some random burgalry about the manor.
The "get out" goal is easy. There's a side door on the north side of the
manor, the switch to open it is in the alcove just before it. The front door's
not that tricky, if you want to try it. On the top floor, two archers overlook
the foyer. There is a swordsman near each one too. Blackjack one swordsman,
then douse the torch behind the archer then KO the archer. Hopefully, all is
dark, and the other archer can't see. If he does see you, and starts running
round, get back out to the corridors, or simply jump down to the foyer. If he
hasn't seen you, go round and deal with him, then get down to the foyer. Douse
the two torches beside the main gate, then flick the switch to the right to
open the gates. Just run through the three guards, and you're out.
Not much to see on this level, you can get on the roof if you like, though.
Also, from the roof garden area, there is a passage leading into the throne
room. The roof of this passage is incomplete, and you can jump up and see
stuff you're not supposed to.
3- Break from Cragscleft Prison
Overview- You got the sceptre, but your fence Cutty has been thrown in jail.
The jail is in a mountain face, above an old mine, and you will be breaking in
via the mines.
Beginner's Guide-
Objectives: Get into the prison area
Get Cutty out alive
Righto, best get under way. This level has new enemies for you, first and
foremost, zombies. Your best bet is to just avoid them, and keep on your feet,
but you can maybe take them on one at a time with your sword. Just remember to
get moving again when you do knock them down, as they'll get back up in a
couple of seconds.
To get out of the mines, you need to get to the third floor. Find the
elevator, and press the top button. There's a couple of zombies on this floor,
just run until you see or hear the Hammer guards. At this point, you can
either wait for the Hammers to talk, and go about their business, or lure them
to fight the zombies for you. Their Hammers can break the zombies limb from
limb. Just be careful, when one side wins, they may be alert and looking for
you!
Once you are up the stairs, you are in the factory area. From here on in,
it's a case of carefully moving between dark areas, dealing with the Hammers
one at a time. There's some tricky bits where the floor is metal, use moss
arrows to soften the ground at those points. The level is quite tight, so
getting away from a guard chasing you is hard, and killing the Hammers is
*very* hard, so make good use of quickload and quicksave.
When you get to the prison, you'll need to open Cutty's prison cell.
Opening the others risks having prisoners running about drawing attention.
Each cell block has a guard post overlooking, with a Hammer guard, alarm
button (one alarm system for each cell block), cell door buttons, and a book
listing prisoners. Once in Cutty's cell, the goals change. You need to get
even further up in the complex to get into the evidence box.
Follow directions to the barracks, there's more sneaking involved, but you
have a bit more breathing space.
Wait wait, I've been meaning to say: if you don't already know, the loot
you collect in a level is the money you get to buy equipment in the next
mission. If you're feeling confident, or want to make the most of your time
here, the upper levels here are a good opportunity to get some loot. You can't
carry equipment over to the next level, so you might as well use it getting
loot.
Anyway, eventually, you'll come across a T-junction, with a hammer emblem
on the wall ahead. At this point, the room to the right has a secret passage
behind a banner with some loot, and the room to the left has the evidence box.
Expert Guide-
Objectives: Get into the prison
Break Out Cutty
Break Out Basso
Find Issyt the Beggar and get back the Lucky Hand of Glory
Get 1000 loot
Don't kill anyone
This level changes a bit from Normal difficulty, the lift no longer goes to
the third floor, so you will have to climb up the hard way. Where the tracks
go outside, and there is a zombie lying, the wall to the right is cut away,
and this is the start of the route up. There is also no holy water font on the
second floor (the floor you start on), but there is a ruined Hammer chapel on
the third floor, with a water arrow, holy water vial and a font, and some loot.
You might want to clear the third floor of wandering zombies as you'll be
coming back later.
When you get into the Hammer area, there is a chest that puts a heavy
hammer in your hands, you might want to take it with you (see section D.5- How
to kill (without it counting against you)).
When you get to the area with the security camera device, there is a hole
in one dark corner that's worth investigating, you'll be asked to come back
later.
The way the goals change in this mission, when you find Cutty he will tell
you to get Felix' notes from the evidence safe. When you get to the safe,
there is a note saying a prisoner has escaped with the plans and half the loot
in the safe.
If you come across Basso before you're ready to go, keep a note of where he
is, and leave him for later.
The loot condition on this level isn't too tough, there's a couple of
whiskey bottles behind the banner in the room next to the evidence box room,
some more in the Hammer habitation area (I think there's only one Hammer
around there), and some in the mines.
One weird thing you can do on this level is KO Cutty when he's talking- and
he won't die!
4- Down in the Bonehoard